Underfloor heating: should it be installed wet or dry?

Nevertheless, I still wonder how the sales advisor can promote drywall construction as the only true method for underfloor heating. Basically implying everything else is botched...

If he says that: Run for your life! Make sure not to sign anything anywhere beforehand!

We have therefore also installed "wet". Our floor covering in the living area/kitchen is vinyl. In my opinion, when installing vinyl as a floating floor, attention should be paid to suitable impact sound insulation as well as a vapor barrier. In the case of bonding, the adhesive should not be water-soluble, as the residual moisture in the screed could cause problems.

In our basement, a dry screed with underfloor heating was also installed. It was a rubble granulate that surrounds the pipes. Upstairs, we received prefabricated panels.

Whether better or worse, no idea, but we do not know the drying phase and mold growth.

When I read this, I understand dry systems to mean that no screed is used at all.

As far as I have understood through research, the special feature of dry systems for underfloor heating is that the pipes themselves do not come into direct contact with the screed that still has to be applied. In addition, heat-conducting plates around the pipes seem to be common in dry systems.

My father-in-law has exactly such a system in use.
After everything was covered with plates, a flowing screed was still pumped into the living room through a hose.

Unfortunately, I have not yet really been able to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the two systems, except for:
- Wet systems seem to be cheaper
- In dry systems, the trades heating and screed are separated from each other by the covering plates
- According to the manufacturer, dry systems have a lower installation height
- According to the manufacturer, dry systems are more durable
- According to the manufacturer, heat distributes faster in dry systems = better heat response time

Hello "Tu Hus",
the integration into a so-called wet screed is the standard variant.
All other solutions are special constructions. This also applies to those warm water underfloor heating systems which manage with very thin elements instead of the usual diameters (of the heating elements).
Which system is used depends on whether the installation height of a wet screed is available or, if applicable, the load-bearing capacity of the substrate (e.g., in timber construction) would not support a wet screed (then a dry construction would be used).
Especially with prefabricated constructions (dry constructions), there are a number of different systems, all of which have their advantages and disadvantages.
You have to know the structural situation in order to be able to provide advice at all.
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Regards: KlaRa

New construction, all options available